Bravo gears are known to be junk. They're always going away. I know with 700hp as I am also even if your easy on the sticks those drives are at/over their limit. If you got 3 seasons out of them I'd say your lucky. Usually starts out as fir on the magnets, hardened surface wearing, time to watch them closely. Then it progresses to flakes, hardening is gone and gear surface is going away. Next is chunks and you waited too long. Expensive enough to replace gears. If you destroy a tower or housing when it blows it's alot more cash to fix or replace. I wouldn't wait until it pops. My 2ct's.

I would do it now as opposed to the spring... offseason is thetime to fix stuff, not waiting for it to get fixed when the suns out and your standing on the dock wishing it was done already.

The lower Merc pinion gear tests at rockwell 48-52. The driven gear tests at 56-59. After 5hrs of running I have seen the pinion gear start to disenegrate and the driven looks new. Why the pinion gear is so soft, is a mystery to me. They build them and sell them by the truck load.... like fire said.. JUNK!

The Imco SCX gears are much harder and last ten times longer.

Dick

Sounds like a market to make some money to me, reverse engineer some gears with a harder rockwell and your in business.

we use PRO (softer) gears in drag racing so they bend instead of break. they absorb more shock this way. they dont last long though maybe one season if your lucky. They tend not to shatter though like regular hardened gearsets.

WORST CASE the gears shatter tetch get caught in the gearset and spread the case breaking the entire housing and your buying a whole new unit.
Plus paying sea tow to get you home.

Best to get it fixed in advance of a major failure. Like split case or tower from gear teeth hitting the inside walls. Then the only parts to salvage will be........nothing.

cheaper now, much more expensive later. Plus better to get it done in the off season.

Will the Imco gears go in the Merc XR case?

No. They are much larger than XR gears.

That is correct, they are too large. Too bad they dont fit. Lots of people have tried to reverse engineer them but the cost is high and not an easy task.

More than likey the gears are made of two differnt types of steel. Its not good to have the same type material with the same RC working together.

Does anyone know what grade tool steel these are made from? I figured it would be 4140/brake die.